help?! im so hungry i cant go to sleep

but i had a full day of eating, and i worked out for 40 minutes. ive eaten close to 1600 calories overmy daily limit! and im STARVING! i have a headache and i cant sleep and my tummy is grumbling? what should i do since i cant get to sleep? i already tried valarian root tea...

I have this problem too when I have insomnia. I don't think it's true hunger. It's more like the misplaced fatigue and desire for sleep. I'm trying to ignore it and let it pass. Do my usual reading, playing on the computer, etc. Then, try to go to sleep again later. Wouldn't hurt to have a warm cup of milk or tea again to create a sleep ritual. But you can be assured, you're not alone.

I notice I get this when I can't sleep as well. Especially if its been for a long while that I've been having sleep problems. I crave carbs and sugar sooo much and I think its my body trying to make up for lack of energy. Make yourself something low-cal and warm, like a cup (and I mean like a measured cup! 8 oz) of soup (campbell's chicken noodle is 80 cals or something). Warm foods like that are calming and also make you feel more full. Then take a nice hot shower, concentrate on breathing deeply and evenly (I know it sounds crazy. my therapist used to make me do that and its super calming), and TRY to sleep. Lack of sleep can trigger your body to produce more of the hunger hormone as well. "Ask Mary" talks about this http://caloriecount.about.com/sleep-sabotage- diet-q5225 .

If you are so hungry that your stomach is growling, then you need to eat something.  If you are that far over your calorie limit, and gettting tummy growling hunger, then you need to look at what you are eating.  Too much sugar and fat can leave you too hungry.  Eating more whole grains, vegetables, lean proteins can keep you going longer for less calories.  Why don't you try posting what you eat on an average day?

on most days I have:

breakfast(10-11pm): cliff bar, or a bowl of oatmeal,orapiece piece of fruit ( I wake up late)

lunch (1-3pm): usually a salad with red beans and just vinegar, some kind of meat (grilled chicken or baked pork or beef nothing fried), sometimes i have french fries if im really hungry or rice and beans, tea with splenda, and some boiled vegetable.

dinner: usually I have something similar to lunch

snack: usually fruit, and then maybe a can of peas (love them), and tea

im a college student, and im a celiac and milk intolerant so sometimes i get gluten free milk free cookies, or crackers but theyre expensive and im a college student so unfortunately thats rare. sometimes at night (im usually up till 1-3am) i get so hungry i eat raisins and prunes, hot dogs, fruit, more peas, gluten free cheese free pizza (amys brand and if i have it)....the list goes on. maybe it would be better to plan an extra meal of maybe a bowl of cereal and fruit around bedtime? I just feel terrible eating something so filling so late so i guess my guilt keeps me hungry until i cant sleep and then i have to eat a ton to make it go away....and then i dont wake up hungry for  breakfast.  Last night I caved in and had 3 100calories cookes and a ton of raisins and a cliff bar. any suggestions?  my calories are supposed to be about 1500 each day and ive already started my day with 700 calories under my belt!? Im going to try and hold out till dinner and have a snack before bed and thats it.

FWIW, I noticed that even if I had "enough" calories I was still STARVING when I went to bed... until I started really reducing my sugar.

From the average day you describe, it sounds like you need a little more protein at night, instead of fruit/cereal/cookies/clif bar. In fact, that extra carb and sugar at night might give you the wrong kind of energy when you don't want it.

If you want to have fruit, then how about some peanut butter on an apple? Or can you make yourself a low-cal protein shake before bed? That's what I do sometimes, with skim milk (sub whatever you need to), ice cubes and my fave powder.

I can definitely get a protien shake in before bed! :) I love them. would plain unflavored oatmeal be a good choice too? beef jerkey? you mean stuff like that would be better? would a tablespoon of pb you think be good for my hunger if thats all i ate? thanks for the help! I dont get too much sugar in my day but i do notice when i stop the sweeteners and caffiene i dont get ANY cravings, which is amazing! but staying away from both is near impossible lol.

AWESOME NEWS GUYS! Iwas able to stick on track i think depsite my binge last night. I had a glass of milk/tea (lots and lots of tea with milkand stevia) for breakfast, a bowl of oatmeal for lunch, and a almost completely salad, fruit, and egg white based dinner and even if my calorie calculations are low i know i at least stayed at about 1500 cals  (the counter says 1380 but i think it runs low for some reason or i might put in less than i actually eat in some cases, anyways i dont always trust it). so just thought i would spread the happy news that even though i messed up it hopefully wont cause any weight gain. if anyone is interested the stevia in my tea helped me a lot?! i was starving and i put it (crushed whole leaf, like a green powder) in my tea and it killed my hunger?! kills my hunger and sweet, how can you beat that? thanks so much guys hopefuly i can avoid this in the future *fingers crossed* all we can do is keep trying right?

Simple carbs (your cliff bar and probably the cookies too) and the fruit may both be causing sugar crashes which will leave you hungry.  You might try limiting such things while you are having trouble.  A planned evening snack is a great idea.  Your oatmeal would be a fine choice, as would any whole grain.  Lean proteins would also be ok, as it looks like you are not overdoing the protein.

If you like the bars, you might try the Fiber One bars.  They still have sugar, like the Cliff bars do, but they have a lot more fiber, which makes a big difference.

I'm glad that the Stevia is helping you.  I've never experienced it curbing my hunger, but it's very possible that ovoiding sugar may be helping you avoid the sugar crashes that leave you hungry.  So keep it up!

Im actually a celiac (cant eat gluten) and lactose intolerant hehe so my food choiced are already kinda limited but I will look for a healthier lower calorie energy bar than cliff, i think luna is made by the same company but is lighter is calories and probably has more fiber and no wheat? I dont know lol. Its certaintly come in handy avoiding cookies and cakes but its a pain when you cant eat some of the healthy stuff! thanks for the suggestions. Ill give it a shot since I woke up last night starving and had about a 200 calorie snack before i could sleep. Im still loosing weight though so maybe 1500 is too low a calories count for me?